The Key Is In The Timing
by lunagirl200
Summary: Tsunade knew all of her shinobi well. That's why it really shouldn't taken her this long to figure out why Naruto had started being just as late as Kakashi.


Tsunade prided herself on the fact that she-like any good Hokage- knew her shinobi rather well. The elite ANBU were no exception to this. In fact, many of them she might go as far to say she knew better than the average ninja under her command. She knew which ones were quiet, which ones were brash, which ones had strange hobbies (most of them if she was being honest), and which ones had a nasty habit is skipping out on their medical exams. She knew her loud little blonde of a surrogate brother, who for all his...quirks, was really quite professional these days. She knew the lazy ass silver haired pervert that had once been said blondes sensei rather well too. So she was not in the least bit surprised when the man showed up late to every ANBU meeting she called. She WAS surprised however, when Naruto started showing up late as well.

She had played it off the first few times (after all, everyone has those days), but after the fifth such occurrence she was forced to admit that something was up. It took her far longer than she would like to admit for her to realize that it might have something to do with the other perpetually late ninja. It was only after it was brought to her attention (and by that she meant Shizune brought it to her attention) that when it was just Naruto who had to be somewhere, he was as punctual as ever.

This new piece of evidence lead her to bring her focus onto Kakashi with a far more discerning eye, mentally scrutinizing every encounter with the pair since the thing began in an attempt to puzzle out some answers. Naruto always arrived before Kakashi. Sometimes by a good half hour and sometimes by only a few minutes. When he arrived he tended to seem a bit ruffled, though glowing with health and energy as the loudmouthed brat always was. When Kakashi himself arrived he behaved no different towards his former student than he ever did. Still there was something there, an epiphany was lurking right in the edge of her mind she just needed something to trigger it.

Just then the window in the Hokage office slid open, she tensed automatically, as did all the ANBU members waiting in the room with her, she glanced at the clock, Naruto was even later to the meeting than last time and that was saying something. She looked back toward the window (honestly did none of the ninja know how to use the damn door) and was taken aback to see not the head of spiky blonde locks she had been expecting, but a mop of silver gravity defying hair instead. She watched in silence and growing astonished understanding as Kakashi climbed through the window and turned to carefully help his blonde compatriot through.

Tsunade was a good Hokage, and like any good Hokage she knew her people. That was why she would forever deny that it had taken her this long to put together the pieces that had been flaunted in front of her face for months now.

"You two are together?!" Tsunade asked calmly (yes calmly she most definitely did not screech, she was the Godiame Hokage and she never screeched thank you very much.) she very nearly exploded when she saw the look of confusion on Narutos face.

"Of course we are, we've been dating for months now, I thought you knew, everyone else did." And indeed looking around the room it seemed like everyone but her had, as none of the others faces showed anything but bemusement at the scene playing out before them.

"YOU'RE WHAT! NARUTO WHY, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING LETTING YOURSELF BE SEDUCED BY A PERVERT LIKE HIM!" Well- Tsunade amended dazedly as she watched Iruka look between Naruto and Kakashi with something akin to horror-maybe she wasn't quite the last to know.

Yes Tsunade was a good Hokage, and a good Hokage knew her people. And it was because of this that she began to see- as she watched the now furious chuunin attempt to castrate Kakashi with a kunai for 'corrupting his precious Naruto' while said boy looked torn between curling up on the ground in mortification and going to his lovers aid- that the two did make sense together, In a strange sort of way. They would be good for each other, even if she would have to put up with late starts to her meetings. Yes they would be good for each other, so she supposed she should go try and stop Iruka from neutering the man, Naruto would need him intact after all.


End file.
